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Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

The best thing about fall, besides the cooler weather and watching the leaves change color, is all things pumpkin! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin chili, pumpkin carving . . . and most of all pumpkin cream cheese muffins from one of the best coffee houses around! Here are the healthful, Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.

You know those muffins – the gooey creamy cheese, the brown sugar and pumpkin seed streusel type topping. Gosh, I could easily eat 2-3 and be happy. Until I remembered the calorie count. 420 calories. Each. Can you believe that? For one muffin? That is what makes me mad enough to bake at home and forgo the Starbucks. It is also why I tell people the calorie counts of things when we are out. Totally discouraging to everyone but people should know that!

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Well, I was on a mission – a mission to make these more healthy and gluten-free and not too sweet. The healthy part and less sugar was easiest. No eggs, a no-calorie sweetener and less oil. The hard part was the gluten-free part. The flour, not so hard. Bob’s Red Mill recently had a coupon – a BOGO coupon! Seriously, the best coupon I have had for a while so I got the oat flour. The harder part was the cream cheese. I was internet searching to see if vegan cream cheeses were gluten-free. And yes they are!

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These are super easy muffins. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, wet in a smaller bowl. In the dry ingredients make a well then add the wet pumpkin mixture. Mix it all together really good. Rinse the small bowl and dry it. Add cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon. Fill muffin tins with paper liners or spray with Pam. Portion out the batter into the 12 cups. For the cream cheese use a smaller spoon and gently press into the batter and scrape into batter with your finger. This is the messy part, but you will get to lick your fingers when you are done. Bake for 25 minutes then enjoy!

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Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins,

2 C Bob’s Red Mill Oat Flour

1 1/4 C No Cal Sweetener

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 C Libby’s Pure Pumpkin

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 C So Delicious Almond Plus Original Milk

1/4 C Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil

1 Cntr Cream Cheese

1/2 C No Cal Sweetener

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix dried ingredients in large mixing bowl. Make well in dried mix.